Local governments in China, keen on attracting big investment projects to boost local economies, are starting to listen to a public increasingly concerned with potential environmental hazards.

Some projects, such as a chemical plant planned for Xiamen, in southwestern Fujian province, are being shelved, suspended or relocated due to public objections. A US$5 billion Sinopec-Kuwait oil joint-venture refinery proposed for Guangzhou, in Guangdong province, is at the center of one such dispute.